It's Not Our Fault
by Icestorm51
Summary: The night Rose shows up at Dimitri's door for Lissa, he never takes Victor's necklace off. How do their lives change if they had stayed together that night? All rights belong to Richelle Mead and her publishers. ON HIATUS!
1. Chapter 1 2

_Chapter 1_

_Dimitri_. He was all I could think about. _Dimitri_.

I slammed on his door. And when he didn't answer, I slammed on it harder.

"Rose?" He exclaimed as he pulled the door opened. I looked at him and he was gorgeous. He had just taken a shower so his hair curled slightly around his neck. He didn't have a shirt on, just some cotton pajama pants. His chest… it was golden and well muscled. If I could just feel them…

"Let me in. It's Lissa," I said, but I couldn't remember what it was Lissa needed.

"What's wrong?" He asked strangely. I couldn't stop staring at his chest and his face. I couldn't resist; I reached for him. "Rose!" He yelled, stepping back. His face was extremely disapproving and… something else. Pleased? Longing? I couldn't tell. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think?" I said before I could stop myself. I smiled despite myself.

"Are you drunk?" He asked, almost as if he wanted me to be.

"Don't I wish," I said. I reached for him again. He dodged me again. But I could see he didn't want to. It was like he was trying to resist me. I stared at him sadly.

"Don't you want to- don't you think I'm pretty?" I wanted him to answer truthfully. I wanted to know if he felt the same way about me as I did him. He swallowed almost painfully.

"Rose, I don't know what's going on right now, but you need to go back to your room." He was lying through his teeth. He knew what was going on. He wanted me just as much as I wanted him. But he couldn't. I could, though. I moved forward once again. He caught my wrists before I could trail my fingers along his muscles. An electric shock ran through both of us and he pulled me close to him. My chest was against his and he ran his hands up my arms, leaving me cold where his warm hands touched me. He ran a hand up my back, braiding his fingers into my hair and tilted my head back with his other hand. His lips barely touched mine but an electric current ran through my body.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" I repeated nervously.

"I think you're beautiful," he admitted.

"Beautiful?" I asked.

He looked like he was admitting to murder. He probably was if anyone found out about this. "You're so beautiful that it hurts me sometimes." He smiled almost shyly. Then he brought his lips down on mine, heavier this time. We were both hungry for each other. He gripped my waist and he broke down, pressing his lips down on mine emotionally. He gathered up the fabric from my dress in his hands and lifted it over my head. I didn't struggle. I didn't do anything. I _wanted_ this to happen. I wasn't wearing a bra so it made it that much easier for him. He was kissing me again but I broke the kiss.

"You… you got rid of that dress fast," I said, breathing heavy. "I thought you liked it."

"I do like it," he said, breathing just as heavily. "I love it." Then he took me to the bed.

I'd never been fully naked in bed with a guy before. When he shimmied off my underwear, I felt seriously exposed; and I loved it. Especially around him. He kept kissing me and kissing me. Occasionally, he would whisper, "Roza… Roza."

I could see he wanted to go further. I was fine with that. But I kept noticing the little things about him. Like the six little lightning bolts engraved on the back of his neck. "You really killed six strigoi?" I asked. He nodded. "Wow." I sighed.

He slid his mouth down to my neck. He skimmed his teeth against the skin on my throat and my breathing sped up.

"Don't worry. You'll have a lot more than me one day," he promised.

He didn't give me a chance to ask my next question. He pressed his lips down on mine, and shimmied his own pants off. He twisted me so I was under him and I realized that he was tired of waiting. His teeth bit my hair as we really started.

When we were done, we huddled up to each other and kissed some more. A few times, I swore I heard him whisper that he loved me but I might have been imagining it.

After I while, we had been talking and I fell into a soft sleep, my body feeling amazing. And that's when I felt it.

A hole ripped through me, tearing me in two. I felt myself drained, dying I thought. Half the feelings in my mind faded out of me. I felt Dimitri tugging at me, asking me what was wrong. I couldn't answer because I was screaming too loud. Somebody was going to hear but I couldn't stop. I knew what was happening somewhere in the back of my mind but I couldn't quite get a hold of it. I wasn't sure I wanted to.

Dimitri kept pushing on my thrashing body, trying to keep my down and quiet. When the pain had stopped, I resided to whimpering, amazed that nobody had heard me. Dimitri kept trying to calm me and was apologizing. I tried to bring him nearer to me but he backed away each time, as if afraid that he would hurt me.

I soon fell back to sleep, not sure what else to do. Dimitri was looking extremely nervous when I woke up. "What did I do wrong?" He asked immediately.

I couldn't talk. Half of me was missing and I couldn't find it. I grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer to me. "Lissa. She's dead."

"What?" He asked, astonished.

Tears started falling down my face. "She's dead. She was in trouble and that's why I came to you last night. We obviously got distracted and…" I saw Victor's necklace on the carper across the room. It was broken. "What happened?"

"You were tugging on it last night. The latch was broken so I had to break it off. I'm sorry." I shook my head.

"I just... How did she die? I feel like a part of me is missing… I…" I was crying hysterical.

"We need to tell Alberta. The thing will be explaining how you know she's dead… because I don't even know."

"You know… my bond… lets me feel her feelings. I can also know if she hurt… or dead." I was crying again. Not that I ever stopped.

"No… we can't be sure… she could be knocked out…"

"I would know," I whispered. "No. She's dead."

"Roza. We need to get you to Alberta. Maybe even Kirova. How about both?"

I shook my head. "I… can't…"

He ran to his wardrobe. He grabbed a sweatshirt and sweatpants and threw them next to me. "Put them on."

After he got his own on, he turned around to see that I hadn't moved. He sighed and walked over to me. He sat me upright gently and pulled the sweatshirt over my head. He did the same with the sweatpants which were way to big for me. When I told him I didn't think I could walk, he lifted me up, bridal-style, and carried me through the dorm. I closed my eyes so I didn't have to see everybody staring.

"Rose?" Mason's voice said.

Dimitri kept walking.

"Rose! What's wrong with her?" Mason demanded.

What was he even doing here? This wasn't his dorm.

"There's nothing wrong with me, Mason. Go away."

He sighed but followed us anyway.

"If you're fine, then why is Dimitri carrying you?"

"It's… a long story." Tears fell from my closed eyes and Dimitri kissed them away somehow without Mason seeing.

"You're not fine. You would be walking if you were fine."

"Okay, maybe I'm not fine. Just leave me alone." I heard his footsteps stop and I almost regretted what I said. Almost.

Dimitri stopped a few minutes later. I had closed my eyes again and I had heard whispers along the entire way. He set me down on my feet, keeping me supported by holding me to his chest. He knocked on a door that I had no doubt was Alberta's office.

"Dimitri?" She sounded surprised. I heard her gasp when she looked at me.

"Can we come in?"

I didn't know if she said yes or not but a few seconds later, I was sitting on Dimitri's lap on a couch across from Alberta's desk. I couldn't see her because my face was still buried in Dimitri's chest.

"What happened?" She asked hesitantly as if she didn't want to know the answer.

"Rose is convinced that Princess Dragomir is dead."

Alberta gasped once again. I heard her pick up her phone and talk in Russian for a few seconds before slamming the phone down.

"How does she know this?"

This is where the subject got touchy. If I could barely walk now, how could I have walked all the way to Dimitri's dorm while almost dying myself?

Russian quietly said a string of Russian profanities. "Um… Well…" I had never seen him this way. He took a deep breath. "Rose came to my bedroom last night at around midnight. She came to me, telling me something was wrong with Lissa when _something_ went wrong. It wasn't natural. She kind of… I think she might have had a lust charm put on her. It infected me when I tried to stop her from coming any closer. We kind of uh…" He said the last few things in Russian, probably including me going insane.

"But… she's your student. That's… you know… illegal."

"As I understand. But it was neither of our faults." Dimitri was very sure of himself.

"But… I've studied charms. They can't be done without the original feelings there. Have you slept with her before?"

"No. Although, I'll admit, I do have some feelings for her. But it's only natural. She's so…" He trailed off.

She ignored the obvious liking in his voice. I didn't. "So she thinks that she could feel Lissa dying through the bond? I… see how that is possible but very unlikely."

At that moment, Stan burst through her office door, a nervous look on his face. "The Princess is not in her room. Why? What's going on?"

Alberta explained everything - well, hopefully not everything - in Russian to Stan. He didn't look at us weirdly or anything so I assumed he didn't know everything.

"I'll go check in the cafeteria and see if anyone has seen her. Dimitri, you should check-" He stopped when I started whimpering. Dimitri put his arms around me and shook his head. Stan shrugged and Alberta went instead, leaving Dimitri and I alone in Alberta's office.

DPOV

I hadn't realized how much she meant to me. I mean, I realized I had a little crush on her, but this… this was something new. Something I hadn't expected. As I saw her cringing into my shirt, I thought to myself that I might actually… love her. I know she loved me. That was way too clear.

I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her hair. She released her arms from around her waist and wrapped them around mine. I could feel her breasts against my chest and I shivered slightly. She hadn't worn a bra last night but her dress had supported her. Not now. My sweatshirt had no support whatsoever and I bet that wasn't extremely comfortable for her. And my pants were way to big on her. They were slipping off her now and I released one of my hands to pull it up. She shivered a little and looked up at me.

"What am I going to do without her, Dimitri? She was half of my life. I wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for her. And now she's dead. What am I going to do?" She asked again.

I stroked her hair and rested my cheek on her head. "You have me, Roza," I whispered. "I won't leave you."

"Really? But… what about being a guardian? Isn't that important to you?" There were dried tears on her face and grief showed in her eyes.

"Yes, it is. But I can still be with you and be a guardian. I become a guardian the same year you graduate so we could get assigned to people who live near each other… It will work out, I promise." I meant it. How could she be concerned about me when her best friend had just been killed? Now I knew I loved her, more than I would have expected.

"Really? You would do that for me?"

"I would do anything for you, Roza. I love you." The words came out of my mouth by accident. I had just been thinking about how I really did love her and I meant to say the last part in my head. It hadn't worked out that way.

Her eyes were red and swollen. She looked straight at me and I looked at her beautiful brown eyes, taking them in.

"I-I love you too," she responded, a little shaky but not as bad as before.

I tipped her head up and I meant to just give her a little peck but I caught her off guard and she kissed me back hard.

I kissed her back without meaning to, breaking apart just before Alberta and Stan walked back into the room.

"She's not anywhere on campus. But we kind of realized that when we got a call from a moroi who said he heard screaming across the street last night. I think we're going to check there. You two… well, I think Rose should go to the infirmary and Dimitri, I think you should come with us," Alberta announced.

"No," Rose said. "I need him here. I don't have… anyone…" I sighed with relief. I knew she was right and I was glad she was. They did too. I didn't want to go with them now.

"Alright, but if anything goes on… You won't be alive next time." Stan looked extremely confused and Alberta looked extremely angry. Rose looked extremely annoyed and I probably looked extremely protective. Very extreme.

A few hours later, we were sitting in Roza's dorm room and she sat in my arms on her bed, looking at a picture of her and Lissa in Portland. Right now, I was almost wishing I had never found them and they were living without fear or sadness with their friends. Almost. I was way to selfish to give her up.

"What do you think would have happened if we hadn't… done it last night?" She asked hesitantly.

"Truthfully, I don't thing it would have mattered. It happened so soon after we had finished, I don't think we would have had time, even if we knew where she was," I said as kindly as I could.

"It just seems like… living without her will be too hard. How will I live? I have always depended on her and-"

I cut her off with a kiss. We held it for just a little longer than necessary. "It'll be okay. I promise," I murmured around her lips.

We broke apart. "I need to go," I told her just as my shirt pocket buzzed. I knew who it was.

I picked it up. "Belikov. It was Dashkov. He killed her. I don't think it was on purpose though and that's the weird thing. He was using her for something and… the rest is all just guesswork. I'll tell you later. Meet me in my office _without Rose _in ten minutes." She hung up then.

I sighed. "Alberta?" She guessed.

I nodded. She sighed too. "I'll be back in an hour. Do you think you can hold up till then?" It was meant to be a joke but she nodded soberly. I sighed once again before kissing her forehead and leaving.

RPOV

I stared at his back before he closed the door. My forehead was warm but my eyes were cold. I stared at the door for a good ten minutes before bursting into tears and laying back on my bed. I almost fell asleep when there was a knock at my door.

Mason entered without me caring whether I answered or not. "Now tell me. What. Is. Wrong," he demanded.

"When I tell you, I will burst into tears and you will be sorry you ever asked," I warned.

"Then go ahead." Wow, so much for a good friend.

"Lissa is… dead. She was killed last night around midnight." And as I promised, I started crying and he had guilt written all over his face. "Get out. Get out before I make you get out."

He backed away towards the door and left, closing it behind him. I laid back again, half hoping to die myself. But now I had Dimitri, loving me. I don't think he would have said that if I hadn't stayed with him last night.

But I would still have my best friend if I hadn't gone to him. I hated life. Too many choices. Why couldn't we have someone make all our decisions for us? Oh yeah, 'cause they already did. I was destined to be a guardian and I would be. Just not now.

I don't know how long I laid there, doing nothing. It felt like a year when Dimitri finally came back. He didn't say anything as he curled up next to me.

"What did they say at the meeting?" I asked.

"I'm not supposed to tell you," he responded sadly.

"She was my best friend Dimitri. I don't think it would kill you if you told me."

He hesitated for a long moment. "It was Victor. You know, Dashkov."

"What?" I asked. I hadn't heard right. Victor Dashkov had done this. I had been expecting some strigoi or possibly even some special Mia forces. Not this. Nothing like this.

"Victor Dashkov was apparently trying to get her to heal him. What do you know about this?"

"Spirit," I whispered. Oh, how much I hated life.

_Chapter 2_

Never trust your friends. Or rather, never trust the people who buy you really nice things for you for no reason to pretend their your friends. Victor had put the lust spell on Dimitri and I. There were two things I wanted to do to that man. First, I wanted to cut off his head, destroy every limb of his body and put it through a paper shredder. Second, I wanted to shake his hand fiercely and thank him for Dimitri and I. Those two emotions conflicted deep. Actually, there was a third. I wanted to never see him again in my life.

As I waited for sleep to come, Dimitri's hands tightened around me. The stars outside promised good weather for tomorrow. It was her funeral today. I didn't go. I couldn't. I hadn't expected to go to a funeral for her for another ninety or so years. Dimitri decided to stay with me. I was supposed to have this stupid test thing soon but they canceled it to my great relief but the ski trip was still on. I sighed. It was not a trip I was eager to go on. My room was with all the others while Dimitri's was surrounded with other guardians. We were barely going to see anything of each other. This thought made me really depressed.

I had seen Christian wandering campus grounds with a retarded sad look on his face. But seriously, they hadn't even been that involved. Sort of. But I still felt kind of bad for him. He had a really big thing for Lissa. When I saw him, I seriously thought he might willingly turn strigoi or something insane like that.

I put all this past me though. I was going to have a nice peaceful last day with Dimitri tomorrow before going on the trip. It had been a month since… that night and Dimitri was still taking it extremely slow.

When I woke up in the morning, Dimitri was still asleep so I decided to take a shower. The hot water was nice and rejuvenating so when I got out, a smile was on my face and- I forgot a towel. I heard Dimitri shuffling around in there. He was awake; not good. He hadn't seen me naked since, well, you know, and I didn't know what reaction he would have.

"Dimitri?" I said, peeking my head out of the door to the bathroom.

He turned around. "Yes?"

I frowned. "Could you, um, turn around for a sec?"

He stared for a second before shrugging and turning around. I ran to the closet on the other side of the room and grabbed a towel, quickly wrapping it around myself. "Okay," I said.

He turned around, gave me a quick overlook and rolled his eyes. "You could have asked me to give you a towel, you know."

I hadn't thought of that. I frowned again. "Whatever." I walked to my drawers but got caught around the waist by Dimitri first.

"You don't have to be afraid. I'm always going to be here for you, no matter what." It was hard to concentrate on what he was saying, though, because we were so close. His lips were only centimeters away from mine. When I pushed myself up to him, he released me but I continued to move towards him. His lips turned into mine, unexpectedly. He kissed me for a moment, his hands sliding up my back… then he broke the kiss and turned away. I was sad and confused for a moment before I realized that my towel had fallen off. I chuckled a little and after I put the towel back on, I touched his arm.

"You don't have to be afraid," I said mockingly but somehow sincerely at the same time.

"I'm just… worried about you, that's all," he replied. "You're always so nervous and jittery. I don't want to force you into anything."

"You wouldn't be forcing me, I would be willing. Plus, I'll be eighteen soon. I'll be the boss of myself then." He smiled at that but did not make any other move towards me.

I sighed and continued my way towards the dresser. After picking out just a t-shirt and jeans, I made my way into the bathroom to brush my hair and teeth. After about ten minutes of deciding what to do with it, I just let it down, not caring much anymore. Then I sat back down with Dimitri.

_~Later~_

I grabbed the bag that I had packed last night and slung it over my shoulder. "What time do the buses leave?" I asked Dimitri.

"Three thirty." He looked at his watch. "We have about ten minutes."

I sighed. Three hours until boredom twenty-four seven for a month.

He wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "It'll be okay. We'll find time." He sighed too though as if he didn't truly believe his own words.

I twisted around and stretched up on my toes to kiss him. He kissed me back but it wasn't like what we usually had. It was more like a goodbye kiss. Sweet and sad at the same time.

He walked back a few steps until the back of his legs touched the bed and he sat down, me still in his arms. I closed my eyes he kissed the top of my head.

"I love you, my beautiful Rose."

"Love you too, Comrade." He chuckled.

We sat there for a minute, thinking about different things.

"We have to go," he said after a while.

We both sighed and then laughed. We got up and he released me, knowing that we couldn't walk like that in the hallway without anyone noticing. The only person who knew about us right now was Alberta and Kirova and neither of them liked it.

So we got up and I grabbed my bag which I dropped and left my room, locking the door behind us. He took my hand when we reached a really deserted place on campus but released it any time we passed someone. When we finally saw the buses, we separated about a foot. I hated the space between us. I wanted to reach out and wrap myself around him. But I couldn't do that, not now. Stan and Alberta were piling students onto buses and guardians onto another.

We were the last to board the buses so he sneaked me a quick kiss before Alberta shot us a look.

"I'll see you in a couple hours," he said sadly.

I nodded and got on my bus. The only open seat I saw was next to Mason. I sighed. I was doing a lot of sighing today.

I sat down next to him and asked, "Where's Eddie?"

"Sitting with Camille," he replied. I scowled slightly. Count on Eddie to go with her everywhere she went.

We sat there in silence for about an hour. I sighed a lot and kept my cheek up against the cold window. A few times, Mason tried to talk to me but I always ignored him.

"Rose," he finally said. What's wrong with you? All you've been doing lately is sitting in your room. You don't come to meals, you only ever go outside for practice with Dimitri-" He paused and I cursed whoever was out there. "It's Dimitri, isn't it? Your in love with Dimitri!"

"Shut up!" I said quietly. Nobody seemed to have heard him. "So what if I am? Does it make a difference?"

"Yes! It does!" He took my hand in his. "I like you, Rose! I do! And you don't like me back! It does make a difference!"

I wrenched my hand from his. "I have the right to love anyone I want to!"

"This wouldn't have happened if Lissa hadn't died," he mumbled.

I choked up for a second but I regained myself. "You have no right. I bet it would have!" I didn't believe myself.

He mumbled something about overreacting but went back to talking to Rafe, the kid across from us.

The next to hours passed extremely slowly. Mason stopped trying to talk to me and I tried to remember everything about Lissa. Her blonde hair, her jade green eyes, her plump lips, her perfect figure… but her personality… that was something else. Always caring and loving even when angry, responsible at the worst of times, and of course, her healing. But I wasn't so sure that was a personality trait.

When we finally got there, snow had started to fall but the mountains were already covered. I looked for bus number two… and I spotted it. They hadn't unloaded yet.

I squinted and looked into the bus. It was tinted so I couldn't see so clearly but it looked like they were getting ready to get off. When the doors opened and the guardians started coming I kept my eyes open for Dimitri. When he didn't come out, I started to get nervous. But I let out a sigh of relief when I saw him still on the bus… with Alberta. She looked like she was lecturing him. I almost laughed before I realized that it was probably about me. I swallowed.

When he got off the bus, he didn't look at me, just walked away. A felt a tear escape my eye when he turned his head around look at me. He wore a sad smile and he winked at me. Then he turned away again and another tear escaped.

I had never been this emotional before. I was about to race after him when I realized that I shouldn't. This is probably what Alberta warned him about; stay away from me.

I walked towards the door of the lodge. I signed in and they gave me my room key. They told me that dinner was at eight but I should be there an hour early. It was a feast and party. That wasn't expected. So when I got to my room… wow. That was something else I hadn't been expecting.

Everything was red. The bed covers were red with cherry wood as the headboard and footboard. That was against the far wall by the window. The table was also cherry wood with glass for the top which was to the right of the doorway with three chairs. Next to it was a dark red leather couch. Lets just say every piece of wood including the dresser which was to the left was made of cherry wood. The walls were a dark red-pink and the carpet was the only exception of red with a cream color. There was a desk with a computer next to the dresser and there was a vase full of roses with a note. I dropped my bag and walked over to it. I took out one of the roses and smelled it while reading the note.

_My Rose,_

_I told you I could make this work. I talked to Alberta and she agreed, surprisingly. This room is half mine. See you in a couple hours after my meeting. I'll save you a seat in the dining hall. Dress nice._

_Love Guardian Dimitri Belikov _

I smiled to myself. Dimitri wasn't talking to Alberta about staying away from me. He was talking to her about staying with me. I inhaled the scent of the rose and put it back in the vase.

I sat on the couch for a second, smelling the leather, before I spotted a door near the bed. A bathroom.

I walked in. It was just like a normal bathroom, bath-shower, sink, toilet, and medicine cabinet. I went back into the main room and grabbed a hair dryer and hair brush from my bag then rushed back. I turned on the sink and wet my hair then blew it dry and pulled it into a beautiful hairdo that Lissa taught me. A bun on top and the rest of the hair falls down on my shoulders. I went back into the room and pulled out a long red dress made out of satin that fell down to my ankles and a pair of stripy shoes to match. I pulled it on over my head, making sure not to mess up my hair and put on the shoes. I put on a ruby (fake, of course) necklace and was looking at myself in the mirror. The dress fit my curves naturally and I pulled my hair over shoulders. Beautiful, as Dimitri said.

I think the worst part of being strigoi (besides the evilness of course) would be doing my hair. Strigoi can't see themselves in reflections. Suckish much.

After wandering the halls for a while, I finally found the entrance to the dining hall. It was a wooden door (cherry, of course) with gold door knobs. Overdone, much.

When I entered, everything was covered in gold, probably not real but still. It was beautiful but I couldn't see much considering the amount of people in the room. I couldn't see two people in front of me. But apparently Dimitri could.

"Roza!" He called. I looked for him but couldn't see, well, anything. He suddenly came through the crowd with a suit on and his hair gelled back. I giggled. He looked down. "It was necessary. Come on, there are two people I want you to meet."

He took my hand and led me through the crowd. Eventually, we got to a food table and there were two guys standing there. Dimitri gestured to the first one. He looked only a little older than me, with dirty blonde hair and jade green eyes that reminded me slightly of Lissa. He held out his hand.

I took it. "My name is Adrian Ivashkov."

"Rose," I said, holding back a grimace. His breathe smelled like alcohol and clove cigarettes.

The other guy walked over to me. He was almost exactly like Adrian except his eyes were blue and he was taller. "Marcus Ivashkov," he said. There was another difference; he didn't smell drunk and high.

"Lord Adrian Ivashkov is my assignment when we leave the academy. Lord Marcus Ivashkov is yours," Dimitri said.

I looked at him, silently thanking him for taking the smellier one.

"Brothers?" I guessed.

They shook their heads simultaneously. "Cousins," Marcus answered.

"They will be roommates when we leave, when Marcus sorts out his house and job. Adrian is now currently living a few miles away from Court. He lives in a half mansion and Marcus will move in there, as will we."

I finally got what he was saying. He promised he would make it work, and he did it even before it became a problem. Oh, how I loved him.

Dimitri took my hand. "Well, it was wonderful meeting you both but we must get back to the party," Marcus announced. "We will see both of you at the end of this year."

Adrian winked at me. "Good bye, Little Dhampir."

I half smiled, half grimaced. I didn't know why I did either of those things. Sort of confused, I turned to Dimitri. "How did you get us _Ivashkov's?_" I asked in awe.

He smiled. "A while back, I had known Marcus. When I saw him tonight, we sort got into the topic of guardians and how he and his cousin had none. So I offered. I can fill out the forms sometime while were here."

"Well, it's good to know that I have someone who needs me. I didn't think… that they would want me anymore." I smiled.

"Of course they would want you, even if you weren't going to guard Marcus. Don't ever think that," he said, but he was smiling too.

The rest of the night passed in a blur, me always staying by Dimitri's side. I sat with him at the gigantic dinner table, not really tasting my food. At around midnight, everyone started departing from the giant hall. Dimitri and I were some of the last to leave, me half drunk and him mingling with some of the guests.

When, finally, there were only a few people left (and by a few, I mean about fifty) we left. He basically dragged me up to our room. When he opened the door, I flopped down onto the couch and he sat in the desk chair.

"You really shouldn't have had that third drink, Roza," he said.

"Well, it was only wine, Comrade. I didn't think it could have been that strong."

He walked over to me and sat down next to me, putting an arm around my shoulder. "Go to sleep. You need it."

"You could come to sleep with me," I suggested.

He grimaced and then sighed. "I would Rose. I really would. But you're too drunk. I couldn't take advantage of you like that."

"_I_ asked, Dimitri," I argued.

"Yes, but you're still underage and you are drunk. It's already illegal." He kissed me lightly. "Maybe tomorrow. If you're better."

"_No_. Please. I want you," I said, trying to be seductive. I don't think it worked.

"I'm not saying no. Just not now," he said, pushing me back down onto the couch while he got up.

I moaned. "_Please. _It's all I'm asking. Please." I tried to get up again but I stumbled and fell. He caught me just when I was about to hit the floor. One arm around my waist and the other on my shoulder, my heart started pounding. I think, just maybe, I could get my way.

DPOV

My heart started beating faster. I wanted her so badly but I knew how wrong it was. But then again, it had been wrong on the first night too. _She asked,_ I reminded myself. I shook my head, trying to clear it. How many drinks did I have? One? Right. One kiss couldn't hurt.

I pulled her upright and looked into her eyes. They were watery and sad. I kissed her eyelids to get the unshed tears away. My lips trailed down the tip of her nose. They stayed there for a moment before she tipped her head back, taking them off her nose and putting them on hers. I didn't kiss her back for a moment, but then I couldn't resist. I snaked my hand up her back and into her hair. The other slid up to her face and cupped her cheek.

"I thought you said you didn't want to," she whispered.

"I never said I didn't want to, I said that it wasn't a good idea. It still isn't. But I want you now. I need you." She closed her eyes as I put my lips to hers once more. Electricity shot through both of us. She shivered and I pulled her closer to me. A few steps back and we were falling onto the bed. I grabbed her waist and pushed her against the headboard, keeping her there, my prisoner, forever.

When we were finished, I held her in my arms. "You'll always be mine, Roza. I'll never leave you."

She didn't say anything for a moment. Then she looked at me. "How do I know? How do I know you're not just saying that?"

"Do you remember how we met?"

She nodded. "Of course."

"When I saw Lissa feed off you, I didn't think, 'Oh, what a blood whore.' I thought, 'What a good friend, letting her feed off her like that.' I searched for you for two years, now that I have you, I'm not letting you go." I skimmed my lips along her throat, letting my tongue glide with it. She shivered and yawned at the same time.

"Good night, my fragile Rose. Sleep well…"


	2. Chapter 3 4

**Hello everyone. Zozerz here with 'It's not our fault.' I showed this to all my friends who read VA first so they could tell me if it was good or not, that's why it took a while. I had a really hard time writing this chapter because I got a request for more detail. I mean, I enjoyed writing it and all but I took a cold shower for like a half an hour afterwards. I hope you like it because a lot of effort went into it. There **_**is**_** a little bit of Blood Promise (the real one) in this but no immediate spoilers if you haven't read the book. Just characters. Be sure to read my version of Blood Promise! R&R!**

**P.S. I don't care about time changes or flight hours, 'kay?**

_Chapter 3_

I woke with a start. Someone was pounding at my door. Crap. I was completely naked and Rose was in bed, also naked.

"Hold on," I said quietly to the door.

I quickly put on a pair of sweatpants from my bag and a t-shirt. I then poked my head out the door. It was Alberta. Shit.

I quietly slid out of the room and closed the door. "Yeah?" I asked almost rudely.

"You're needed," she responded.

"By whom?"

"Someone… I'm not sure. Said it was important. They're in the dining hall."

I nodded. "Thanks."

I then retreated to the room. Rose was just waking up. She sat up, leaning against the headboard. I walked over to my bag on the dresser and grabbed a pair of jeans.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"I'm not exactly sure… well, first I'm going to the dining hall."

"Why?"

"Someone wants to see me. I'm not sure who."

She got up, bringing the duvet cover with her. "Can I come?"

I hesitated. "Okay, but hurry up."

She grabbed her bag and ran into the bathroom.

I sighed and put on the jeans I picked out. I got a brown button up shirt and put that on too. I then brushed my hair back just as Rose came out of the bathroom, dressed in a tank top and jeans. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and a little part of her bra was showing underneath the shirt.

I looked away, afraid I might get distracted. I put my hair in a rubber band, just revealing the six tattoos on the back of my neck. She came over to me and I kissed her lightly. I couldn't resist pulling up her shirt to cover her bra, my hands lingering a little bit.

She pecked me on the cheek and swayed a little.

"Hung over?" I asked.

"Just a little," she responded.

I took her hand and led her out the door and down the hallway. We walked, and I thought who might want to see me. It could be one of the Ivashkov's or maybe another guardian. But it couldn't be that important, right? Or surely they would have told me at the party.

A few minutes of silence later, we got the doors of the giant dining hall. I paused before opening them and Roza looked at me. I shook my head and pushed them open to find a man a lot older than me standing in the hall.

"Mark!" I said happily and I walked over and shook his hand and then gave in and hugged him. "Roza, this is Mark, someone from my village."

"Nice to meet you, Roza," Mark said.

"Call me Rose," she said, the words slightly slurred.

"What brings you here, Mark?" I asked happily.

"Not something I like to share, unfortunately. Olena asked me to come here to tell you and I could not say no. I'm sorry but three days ago, Sonya was hit by a car and killed."

The blood drained from my face. Empathy and apathy flooded through me at the same time, if possible. Rose's grip tightened on my hand.

"Dimitri, who's Sonya?"

"Sonya was his sister," Mark answered for me.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move at all. I couldn't even blink. The world went dark and I felt myself hit the floor. My chest felt like it was being crushed by and elephant. My left arm had shooting pains and I tried to block out the pain. The last thing I heard was Roza.

"Crap."

O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

Oh my God, shut that thing up!

I blinked open my eyes and saw and IV dripping into my blood stream.

I ripped it off my arm and pulled the wires out of my nose and god damn it, it hurt. My nose started bleeding. I grabbed a tissue from a box next to me. I noticed the table the box was on was covered in them. My poor Roza. I hadn't noticed that the beeping thing had turned into a steady tone. Okay, so now they thought I was dead. Crap, I probably shouldn't have done that.

I sat up and looked around. The room was plain white, including the bed I was sitting on and there was a small TV in the corner of the room that looked like it was from the nineteen forties. The tone was starting to get annoying. The machine next to my bed was also really old. Is this the best medical stuff they could get me? I hit the machine and it turned off.

I closed my eyes, remembering. Sonya was dead. I would kill whoever hit her. Did Mark tell me? No. He had to be here still, right? He couldn't just drop the news and run. I sighed. A tear escaped my eye. I wiped it away quickly. A moment of weakness.

Suddenly, someone came bursting through the door with Rose. The man looked pissed and Rose's face was covered in tears.

Rose ran into me and I exhaled with a huff. The doctor pulled her off roughly and stared at me. He sighed. "Damn it. You're fine. Don't ever do that again!" He scolded. I ignored him and reached for Rose. She ran into me again but this time with less force.

"Well, Mr. Belikov, you had a heart attack. You recovered well and gave all of us quite a shock when the meter turned off. I have to ask, what caused this? You have good blood pressure and heart rate so it couldn't have been a bodily problem."

I sighed. "It was probably, like, shock or something."

"In my records, I don't think anything 'like, shock' ever happened."

"Well, then it's a mystery." I squeezed Rose and she squeezed me back. "Can I leave now?"

"No. We have to take a few tests and do a few things-"

"I'm obviously fine. Can I leave now?"

He sighed. "I suppose so. Just be careful for now, and take it easy for a week."

"Right, Doc. Later." I got up with Rose still attached to my hip and walked out the door. I got her to let me go, except for my hand.

"Rose, where's Mark?"

"He left to tell others. He told me to tell you that he was sorry he had to give you the news and that he was sorry about Sonya."

Crap. I knew what I what I had to do then. But I couldn't leave Rose… but I had to…

My emotions conflicted so much in that minute that I thought I would explode. I had to go. There was no question. But I could be with Rose one more night…

"What time is it?" I asked.

Rose pulled out her phone from her pocket. "Nine thirty."

"At night?"

She nodded.

I started walking faster, pulling her with me.

When we got to our room, I burst through the door and slammed it closed. I pulled her close to me and pushed down on her lips with mine hard. She broke away first and when she caught her breath, I pulled her back to me but she resisted.

"What?" I asked angrily.

"The doctor told you to take it easy," Rose said but I could tell she didn't actually want to.

"I gave you what you wanted last night, so I'm going to get what I want tonight."

She gave up, wanting me as much as I wanted her. I pulled her back to me and her sweet lips moved easily with mine. When we broke apart, it was only to catch our breaths. I put my hands on her hips and went up little by little. Eventually, I got to her bra and lifted it up a little so my thumbs could circle around her nipples. We shivered at the same time and I took off her shirt and bra, feeling every part of her. She took off my shirt and we pressed together, fitting together perfectly.

"Roza," I moaned.

She took off her pants as I took off mine and I caught her wrists, dragging her to the bed with me. I kissed her chest up to her neck and to her jaws and finally to the corner of her mouth. She moaned and we were enveloped in pure bliss as we continued on.

We connected perfectly, made for each other as she once said. Nothing could stop us once we started except energy, and we were out of it. She was done and fell asleep almost instantly, not leaving me enough time to tell her that I loved her.

I sighed. I had to leave. I wrote her a note and kissed her once more in her sleep. I grabbed my bags and spared myself one last fleeting glance before closing the door and taking my cell phone out to call the airport.

Rose POV

I smiled. I reached out to Dimitri's side of the bed, to hold him. After literally feeling around for him for a full minute, I opened my eyes, realizing he wasn't there. A piece of paper was sitting on the table. I got up, taking the sheet with me to cover myself up. I picked the paper up.

_Roza,_

_I'm leaving to go to my sister's funeral in Siberia. _Please _don't follow me. You would get in so much trouble if you did. I love you. I'll be back in a couple weeks. Be safe._

_Love Guardian Dimitri Belikov ___

Yeah, right. Of course I was going to follow him. I couldn't just sit here for three weeks. He could've just taken me with him and it would have been easier for us both.

I went to the dresser and pulled my phone out of my bag. I dialed 411 to direct me to the nearest airport.

"Hello?" An airport lady person answered.

"Yeah, um, when was the last flight to Siberia?"

"Yesterday at three thirty."

I sighed in relief. "When's the next one?"

"Today at three thirty."

Alright then. Good enough. "I need a ticket."

"What's your name?"

"Rosemarie Hathaway."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"You're a minor. You can't travel to Russia."

I almost hissed. An idea popped into my head. "I'm traveling with someone."

"Who?"

"Dimitri Belikov." This was my chance to see if he was actually on the plane too.

"Alright…" I heard clicking and typing. "Would you like a seat next to Mr. Belikov?"

"No." He couldn't know I was on the plane until we took off.

"Alright, be here an hour before boarding time."

"Thank you."

"And how will I recognize you?"

"I'll have ID."

"Thank you Miss Hathaway. We will see soon," the woman said cheerfully.

I hung up and looked at the time on my phone. Ten thirty. It would take three hours to get to the airport so I would have two hours until take off. Perfect. I would just have to avoid Dimitri. Not so perfect. He was a guardian and we saw _everything_. Ugh.

I got dressed, only bringing a sweatshirt, cell phone and my wallet with me.

I ran out of my room, rushing past everyone, ignoring those who said my name.

I ran out of the lodge to see a big problem. No car. I looked around to hopefully see one of those new cars where all you had to do was push a button to turn it on. Fortunately, there were like a million of them. This place must be for the extremely rich. I opened the door to a black one, sliding into the drivers seat. Driving lessons in Portland was a very good idea.

I sped down the road, keeping just below the speed limit. Although I took lessons, I didn't want to get pulled over and get a ticket that would just take up my time. After an agonizing three hours of nothingness, I realized something. After every time we did it, something bad happened.

I groaned as I got out of the car. Then I laughed. I would just have to face the consequences. Maybe something good would come out of this. I walked into the airport, not wanting to raise suspicion. I walked up to the desk where you sign in. Almost nobody was there.

"Hello, how may I help you?" The woman asked.

"Uh… my name is Rosemarie Hathaway and I'm checking in for my flight to Siberia."

"Okay, hold on… can I see your ID?"

I pulled out my wallet and shuffled through my stuff until I found it and gave it to her.

"Alright then," she said as she handed it back to me. "Go to security and they'll direct you to your gate." She handed me my ticket and called, "NEXT!"

I walked off to the security gates and since I didn't have a bag, just put my cell phone and wallet in one of the trays.

And then I remembered… oh CRAP! My stake. I was just about to walk through the thingy where they scan you when I ran. I ran to the bathroom and put it in the garbage and covered it with toilet paper. Now I was defenseless. Crap… I'd have to make do with something else. I ran back to the security gate and ran through the thing and she said, "CLEAR!" just as I grabbed my bags.

I looked around. I was standing in an airport, two hours from my plane with no clue what to do. I looked at a star bucks. I hated coffee but maybe a donut… I sighed. I was clueless. I went to star bucks and paid for a donut. It was disgusting. I realized what I wanted. I wanted to be with Dimitri.

I sat down at a table. I watched all the passerby's, staring at all the abnormal freaks. And then I saw him. He was looking around as if he didn't know what to do either. He started walking towards all the gates and I followed him. I kept my footsteps light, being quiet although it was unnecessary.

He looked determined… and kind of depressed. It was hard not to go over to him and comfort him. But I needed to stay away from him until we took off. Then he couldn't do anything.

He went all the way to our gate and looked around for a seat. When he looked satisfied, he went and sat down. I was still standing, not wanting him to see me. I peered around the wall I was standing by to see his face in his hands. I watched him like that for a good hour before he got up to go to the bathroom. I stood still, being as invisible as possible. When he came back, he went to talk to the person behind the desk. They were shaking their head. He sat back down and we both waited another hour before it was time to board the plane. He got on in seating section two and I got on in three. I turned my head the other way when I passed him but he wasn't paying attention. When I sat in my seat, he was only about ten ahead of me. I took out a magazine from the pocket on the seat in front of me and skimmed through it mindlessly while the plane prepared for take off.

Finally, when we got off the ground, I was just about to get up when an attendant pushed me back down and said they would tell the passengers when they could walk around the cabin. I sighed.

I waited another twenty minutes before the pilot turned off the seatbelt sign. Then I stopped. I hadn't thought this through at all. What was I going to do? Walk up to him and say that I followed him even though he told me not to and that the school was probably going to fire him and expel me for leaving without permission. I shuddered at the thought of what he would say. 

I got up anyway and slowly made my way to his seat. He was sitting with a woman about his age, and it looked like she was trying to comfort him but he was rejecting her. Ha. He would always love me best.

I tapped on her shoulder and she looked up. I mouthed, 'I'm with him.'

She sighed in relief and I told her where my seat was. She got up and made her way towards my seat while I sat down in hers. He didn't notice me until I wrapped my arms around him. He pushed me away until he saw who I was, then he hugged me back.

He looked up. "You shouldn't be here," he said.

"I know. But what could I do? Sit around at home while you were off without me?"

He nodded. I sighed. "What's wrong, anyway?"

"My other sister called. Sonya was pregnant when she died."

I rested my head on his shoulder. I felt so bad for him. What if Lissa had been pregnant? Would I have felt this way? He put his arms around me.

"It's alright now. I have you," he said.

I smiled and closed my eyes. "Love you."

"Love you too."

We stayed like that for a while. Then, I asked, "What do you think would have happened if I hadn't come to you that night?"

"We've had this conversation before."

"No, not this one."

"What?"

"What if I hadn't come to you? Like, I never spent the night with you. What do you think would have happened?"

He looked straight at me. "I'm not sure. I probably still would have been there for you, even though you hadn't come to me. Maybe we wouldn't be together… but I would still have been there."

I snuggled up closer to him, kissing him lightly on the lips. But that 'lightly' turned into a heartfelt, soulful kiss. And that turned into a hardcore make out session. His hands felt warm against my skin and they slid around my waist and my hands tangled themselves in his hair which I ripped loose from its pony tail. I heard the guy behind us say, "Get a room, teenagers."

I laughed and we broke apart, both breathing deeply. A few people were looking at us but I didn't care. He was so sweet and beautiful… I guess he wasn't angry that I followed him.

It was a long time before either of us spoke again. Maybe an hour or two. He put his lips on my neck and said, "You're going to love it in Russia."

_Chapter 4_

We landed in Siberia ten hours later. We were only an hour from his home town where his family lived but it was midnight when we landed. He said we couldn't get there at night because of the strigoi that hunted unfortunate passerby's.

We got a hotel room and he gave me a pair of sweatpants before putting his bag away. When I laid back on our bed, it felt like heaven compared to the airplane seat. He snuggled up next to me, putting an arm around my waist while the other stroked my hair. He put his lips on my hair and I turned around so they could meet mine. When we broke apart, I closed my eyes and he stroked my face, softly humming while I fell asleep.

We both woke up at the same time, partly because I swung my arm around and my hand landed right in the middle of his stomach. He sat straight up at glared at me and then laughed when I thought he meant it.

"Good morning, Roza," he said. He held my cheek in his palm, stroking it with his thumb. I sighed.

"I feel like giving _you_ some nickname now, just to annoy you. How about…"

"What about Dimka? It's my Russian nickname," he suggested.

"I don't know. It doesn't sound completely right. Don't worry, I'll come up with it soon."

"You do that."

He got up and put on a pair of jeans, throwing me mine. I still had my sweatshirt on so I didn't change my top. He grabbed my hand as we walked down to the front desk and he checked out in Russian. In the parking lot, he headed straight to a car.

"What are you doing?" I asked, confused.

"I rented a car while we were still in America," he explained.

I shook my head. "I think that being too prepared is bad for you."

He chuckled. "Just get in."

I got in the passengers seat. I remembered the car I stole from the lodge and felt bad. That car was worth, like, hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I grabbed Dimitri's phone from his front shirt pocket. He looked at me in confusion. I dialed 411 again asked for the same airport. A woman picked up the phone and I described the car and the first three digits of the license plate and told her to see who the owner was and call them. She asked me why I was doing this and I hung up.

"You stole a car?"

I nodded sheepishly.

"It sounds like something you would do."

We both laughed. About an hour of crappy music and plain fields went by until we got to his home town.

"Ah, Baia. I've missed you so." He laughed. "I haven't been here in over seven years, I'm aloud to be sentimental," he said when I groaned.

A few minutes went by and I saw that it was just like any other town. Stores, teenagers, movie theaters… everything. It wasn't even extremely cold like I expected. It was around seventy… a late spring day in Montana.

We pulled up to a pretty modern looking house. It was covered in ivy which improved the look even more. It was pretty just looking at it.

Dimitri grinned from ear to ear but his grin dropped very suddenly. "Home," he whispered. He got out of the car and before I could even unbuckle, he was opening my door and helping me out. He put his arm around my waist as we walked up to the front door.

He knocked twice before opening it, to let them know he was coming in.

"Viktoria, can you call the- Dimitri!"

A woman who looked like she was in her late forties ran up to Dimitri and hugged him around the neck which was awkward because he didn't let go of me. She released him, looked at him, then hugged him again. I tried to make myself not part of the equation but when I tried to make him let go of me, his arm just tightened.

The woman finally took a step back and he smiled. "Hi, Mom."

"Oh, Dimitri. What am I going to do with you?"

"What did I do wrong this time?"

"You left when you were twenty, with nothing to show us you were alive and well and show up seven years later with a girl attached to your hip and a stake in your pocket. What did you do wrong?"

He grinned. "Well, you can't blame me."

"What do you mean I can't blame you? It's all your fault."

"No, I mean you can't blame me about 'the girl attached to my hip.' That's one thing you can't blame me about. It's not my fault."

I scowled at elbowed him in the ribs and he laughed. "It is _so_ your fault."

"Are you going to introduce me?" His mother asked.

"I don't know, you might scare her away." A look from his mother made him change his mind quickly. "Ma, this Roza. Roza, this is my mother, Olena."

"Nice to meet you, Rose." So creepy how she knew my real name just from my nickname.

"You too," I responded, feeling kind of awkward.

"Roza, this is my house." He waved his hand out like a fan, gesturing to what looked like a living room. His bookshelf where he'd told me he would sit in front of, and very carefully read the books from it. Chairs, a table and fireplace sat on the dusty floor, waiting to be sat on or used. An archway to the left looked like it went to the kitchen and a stairway to the right led upstairs. I stared in awe and Dimitri chuckled.

I grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"Where's Karolina?" He asked. "And Viktoria?"

"Karolina is at work and Viktoria is at the store getting ingredients."

"I hope you're making the juma," he said, smiling.

"What's juma?" I asked.

"It's this black bread. Don't ask what's in it. That's not actually what it's called but when I was young, I couldn't pronounce the Russian word for it so I abbreviated it."

I laughed. The thought of Dimitri not being able to do something was so stupid in my brain. It was like Earth not being able to orbit around the sun.

I pulled Dimitri to the bookshelf. "This is the one you were talking about?"

He nodded.

"Which was your favorite?"

He stared at the collection of books, deciding. They were all in Celtic. He finally pulled one off the shelf, showing it to me. "It's called, 'Desert Flower.'

"What's it about?" I asked.

"Why don't I read it to you? At night, I mean. If my mother doesn't work you to death." I laughed and looked up at him to see he was being completely serious. Ugh, work.

I looked behind us to see Olena wasn't standing there anymore. She must've gone back to the kitchen.

Dimitri put the book in my hands. "Why don't you go put this upstairs and look around? My room is on the top floor, far left, last door."

I nodded and went to the stairs and gingerly handled the book, afraid it would crumble in my hands, it was so old.

I didn't bother to look around in case I discover something that I was not supposed to and followed Dimitri's directions up to his room. There was a smaller bookshelf in the corner with one small bed in the middle of the room. The rest of the stuff was all regular, a dresser, night table, chest…

I sat down in his bed and took in the scent. It hadn't been slept on for a really long time. It was covered in dust and there was a spider in the corner of the footboard. I swatted it away and placed the book in the center of the bed. I then ran downstairs, to be with Dimitri again. He was in the kitchen with Olena and another woman. I didn't want to interrupt their conversation so I waited outside, and listened in.

"Because she's wonderful, Mom. She's like my soul mate."

The other woman snorted. "If she is your soul mate, then a sack of pigs will fall out of the sky and land on top of our roof." I half expected there to be a thud from above.

"Yeva, it's none of your business. Besides, we're perfect for each other. Just because your marriage went wrong, why does my relationship have to?"

"I suppose you're right, Dimka. Besides, we just met the girl, how can we judge her?"

Silence, then.

"Perhaps we have just met her, but it is not my first encounter with her."

Somebody sighed.

"No, neither of you are meant to be here right now. It should not have ended up this way. Her friend should still be alive and-"

"How do you know about Princess Dragomir?"

More silence.

"Right."

"Yeva, do not interfere. If this is the way it is now, this is the way it was supposed to be. Now quit it with all this superstitious crap."

The woman mumbled something in Russian. Olena gasped and Dimitri stormed out of the room. He passed me without noticing and then turned around and looked at me. He sighed. Grabbing my hand, he led me upstairs, back to his room. He sat down on the bed while I examined his bookshelf. All the books were in Russian. No doubt, westerns.

"Isn't she lovely?" He said suddenly.

"What?"

"Yeva, my grandmother. She's a witch, literally. She's kind of like a fortune teller but it goes further than that. She has these dreams… or so she says. It gets quite annoying."

"It's okay, I mean, she only wants what's best for you, right?"

He scowled. "I suppose, but it doesn't matter. Just ignore her."

"Whatever you want, Comrade."

And so the story began. He picked up the book and started reading, and for the next five nights, after life threatening days of chores and cooking and preparing for the funeral, Dimitri would read to me, translating from Russian to English. The book began in India and eventually made its way to Japan and then Africa, in the middle of the Sahara. It was about a man who had lost his lover in a fire and sought to rid his mind of her. Eventually, he found another girl and on the story went. When Dimitri read it, he was so consumed that sometimes I wouldn't listen and just stare at him. On the third night, he caught me looking at him and I attacked him, climbing over him and pressing my lips to his. The book forgotten, we were engulfed in pure bliss. When we woke up the next morning, we found the book on the floor, the spine bent and Olena screaming at him to take better care of her property.

Viktoria and Karolina were slightly ignorant of me, only talking to me when they had to. They didn't like me because I took Dimitri away from them, even though he was happy and that's why they didn't completely beat me to a pulp. Viktoria was a little bit younger than me and Karolina was a few years older than Dimitri.

Other than that, my time in Russia was almost perfect.

Besides the funeral.

**Sorry about Lissa not being in the chapter **_**at all**_** but she wasn't extremely important. Her name will be in the next one a lot because it's time for Viktor's trial! Keep reading and reviewing!**

**-Zozerz**

**P.S. I'm working on Blood Promise, don't worry, it'll be out soon and I'm working on a story called 'Dimitri in Writing.' It's about what would happen if Dimitri had staked the blonde strigoi before he had been turned. Keep in mind that a lot of that story isn't actually my writing, it's writing that I take from other stories that work well with it. Some of it **_**is**_** my writing but only the none sequential parts that don't work with other stories. Please read and review and don't judge before you try it!**


	3. Chapter 5 6

**OMGL I'M SOOOOO SORRY. I kind of totally forgot this story existed, so I wasn't writing… but it's here now so don't get all angry and start with the death threats like I do to everybody else! I promise I'll be more productive and not skip out like I've been doing lately. But, I do have school and a half social life (not really) and since I'm also doing Blood Promise, Coming Home and Blissful Sleep, it'll take some time. Just don't kill me.**

**-Love, Zoë**

**P.S. I'm warning you, chapter six gets a few innuendos of the sort and a bunch of _really _adult references. Just saying.**

_Chapter 5_

We all sat around a small campfire in the backyard. In all, there were about thirty of us, all of our friends and family that had known Sonya.

I tried to keep my face straight but my problem with controlling myself overwhelmed me and at times I would start crying or just tearing up. Roza would always put her arm around me and say, "It's okay. It's not your fault, she's in a better place."

It's not my fault. What a pathetic sentence. _Of course _it was my fault. She was my sister, I should have protected her even if I wasn't in the country…

The guy who had hit her was there. He was her boyfriend at the time and was drunk, coming to pick her up to go to a club when he drove straight into her while she was on the sidewalk waiting for him. He was too drunk to know what to do so he hadn't taken her to a hospital. If he had, she probably would have lived.

When I first saw him, I felt like ripping his head off but Rose restrained me. I saw his face and it was grief-stricken so I decided not to murder him.

Rose put her head on my shoulder as people were talking. They were speaking in Russian so she didn't understand a word they were saying and I only translated when someone said something important. She started to drift off and people started fading away from the party. When there was only a few people left, Rose led me upstairs. She got me into bed and followed quickly after getting in a super short red nightgown. She kissed my cheek and snuggled up into my arms. I hiccupped. I had had _way _too much vodka.

"You're going to have a terrible headache," she whispered.

"I know. We're going to have to go back tomorrow also."

"You don't mean…"

"I do. We're going to be in so much trouble."

"It doesn't matter. You're the best guardian there and I have a bond with Lissa. And even if they do, we have each other," she mumbled. It sounded corny but it was true. She only had a couple months of school left and we could probably get her enrolled in a school in Russia or Turkey. It wouldn't be so bad.

My headache suddenly appeared earlier than necessary in my head and I closed my eyes.

"Sleep, Comrade. It'll be okay. We have each other…"

RPOV

His warm arms held me close as I drifted off to sleep. And the warmth disappeared as quick as possible, obviously. I was standing by a great lake by a flower garden. I sighed but smiled. It was nice, kind of cozy and…

"Rose?"

The voice startled me. I looked around. Standing there, was a person who confused me to an extent where I almost lost it. In front of me? Adrian Ivashkov.

"Lord Ivashkov?"

He smiled. "Adrian."

"Yeah… um, is this real?"

"I don't know," he admitted.

"So… you're just a figment of my imagination?"

"No. What I meant by 'I don't know,' is that I don't know if this," he motioned to our surroundings, "is real. Could be. But I really wouldn't know."

"No- not this. I meant… is this a dream?"

"Yes, Rose, it is. But, imaginably, I am a dream walker."

Somehow, that didn't strike me as weird.

"Alright, then." I smiled. "What's up?"

"Well, you kind of disappeared…"

"Oh." I paused, trying to evaluate the situation. "Well, yeah. I did. Not really. I'm in Russia with Dimitri."

"All the guardians -plus your mom- are really worried about you."

I groaned. "I knew this was going to happen. But I came anyway." Then it hit me. "Adrian, what did you specialize in?"

He hesitated. "What?"

"What did you specialize in?" I repeated.

"I, um, didn't," he said kind of awkwardly.

"Oh my God."

"What?" He asked, totally confused.

"What else can you do?"

"Excuse me?"

"You can dream walk, so, what else special can you do?"

"I can… read peoples auras… I can…" he slowly ran out of list and a lot of them I remember reading about.

"You did specialize."

"Um, no, I didn't."

"Um, yeah, you did. You didn't specialize in anything that anyone else knows about though. You specialized in spirit."

"Spirit?"

"Yeah, my friend Lissa had it and then she died." I sniffed.

"You mean Vasilisa Dragomir? Weren't you supposed to be her guardian?"

"Yeah. She was murdered."

"By…?"

"Viktor Dashkov."

"Interesting…" I waited while he took all of this in. "So… I _did_ specialize?"

"Yes. I kind of need to leave now, so, think about all of this, then get back to me."

"Yeah… uh-huh."

"Good," I said as I started to fade away.

"Bye, Little Dhampir."

I woke to Dimitri kissing my hair. "We need to go, my love. Our plane leaves soon."

I sat up slowly and stretched, finding myself sore and more tired than I was last night.

"Don't worry, you can sleep on the plane."

Then I remembered the dream with Adrian. "Uh, Dimitri? I kind of have something to tell you."

"Yes?" He asked suspiciously.

"Well… I think Adrian Ivashkov is a spirit user."

"Why would you think that?"

"He appeared in one of my dreams last night and I asked him what he specialized in and he said he hadn't."

"Are you sure that it wasn't just a weird dream?" He asked with concern.

I nodded. He helped me up and to the dresser. I changed, taking my time and packed up all my stuff.

Dimitri was chewing on his tongue. "We should leave now. We can get food in the airport."

I nodded. I grabbed his hand as he led me downstairs with our bags in hand. He had let me borrow Viktoria's clothes since we were about the same size and she let me keep them. We said short goodbye's to Dimitri's family and left, going to our rented car. We drove back to the airport where Dimitri called the car company to tell them there car was there. We ate quickly at Dunkin' Donuts and got on our plane just in time. On the plane, I quickly fell asleep in Dimitri's arms and I had a black, dreamless sleep. When I woke up, we were just landing in California. In ten minutes, we were back on another plane, heading to Montana.

"Someday soon, I'm going to get sick of planes," I commented. He just smiled and turned his eyes back on the his phone. I didn't know what he was waiting for but it was sure irritating me.

The phone rang soon after and he picked up.

"Hello?" He paused. "Yes, I know… We're on our way back now… Three hours. No. Yes, yes. I know. We'll be seeing you soon."

He hung up and turned it off. "They're expecting us."

I nodded solemnly, not wanting to know exactly who 'they' were or how they were going to treat us when we got there. It was probably my mother or Alberta going to fire and expel us. I sighed. A long weekend full of sorrow to come back to more hate. Goody.

_Chapter 6_

The service we got was unexpected. My mother hugged me, ripping my hand from Dimitri's. She pulled me away to the building where Alberta pulled Dimitri the other way.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

"I… look Mom, Dimitri needed to go back and I didn't want him to go alone, lest something bad happened to him."

"You could have told someone! Do you know how badly I wanted to go over there and rip him limb from limb because I thought he had taken you?"

I stood, stunned to hear those words. Dimitri? Kidnap me? I could understand if it was for some other reason, like maybe a personal interest, but for his own devilish and evil reasons? Never.

"Mom!"

"You never know. Now go back to your room and stay there. You're not to come out unless for training or meals. In fact, skip the meals. I'll have someone bring them to you."

I tried to put on a annoyed face, but the truth was, a room with Dimitri without being able to leave without Dimitri, was an extraordinarily good thing.

"But Mom!"

"No. You've caused too much trouble as it is. I had to convince all of them not to expel you and this was their agreement. Just go and I'll be up there in a little to teach you how to behave."

I nodded and left, heading up to my red room. I saw Dimitri getting screamed at by Alberta. I hoped he would be up soon.

I sat on my bed, miserably waiting for Alberta and my mother. I felt like the red was closing in on me and taking me in. It felt like I was nearing the sun and the closer I got, the worse it got.

Finally, Alberta walked in. She had no emotion on her face whatsoever. She pulled a chair from the table over and spun it around to sit on it. She closed her eyes.

"Rose, Rose, Rose."

I bit my lip. This couldn't be good.

"What you did was incredibly horrible. You should have never left. But I understand why you did it, which is why I'm not punishing you. Unfortunately, your mother is. Since she has no say in the switching of rooms, you will get to stay with Dimitri." As soon as she said it, I had to hold back a gigantic smile. But she wasn't finished. "But she thinks you should have a limited amount of hours you're aloud out of the room. And since Belikov will be needed…" She shook her head. "I think this will be suitable. I can always change it if you give me a good reason. This was purely by request so I may change your punishment if you give me a good reason. But for now, you're restricted to seven hours in the lodge."

I nodded, expecting it to be a lot worse. I restrained my smile and pretended to be disappointed.

"Thank you, Alberta. For… everything," I said slowly.

She smiled. "Dimitri is like a little brother to me. I've only known him for so long, but I feel like I can try to protect him and choose what's right for him. You, Rose, are definitely right for him," she said quickly before leaving the red room.

I laid back and hit the pillows just as Dimitri walked in.

"What did she say?" He asked.

"I'm only aloud outside in the lodge for seven hours a day. _So_ much more than I expected," I said, grinning.

He walked over to the bed and sat down hesitantly. I pulled myself up and wrapped my arms around his neck. I molded my body to his in a hard hug and he put his arms lightly around my neck. I gave him a light peck before I fell backwards again and dragged him with me. He held onto my waist and spooned me from behind. I faced the bathroom and could see the window there, the light blaring through.

"You don't _need_ to go anywhere. You can stay here with me…" He suggested. I smiled broadly.

"And what would we do up here, Guardian Belikov?" I asked seductively.

He raised and eyebrow smiled. "We could play a few games, Ms. Hathaway. Doctor perhaps."

I giggled when I realized the not-so-deep meaning of his words. I twisted in his arms so I was facing him. I ran my fingers down his chest and he shuddered slightly. "Who would be the patient?"

"You would, of course. But we'd have to go through _all_ of the procedures…"

I giggled again. It surprised me. I wasn't one to giggle much.

"If you say so, _Doctor _Belikov."

He maneuvered us so he was on top, not touching me at all but on all fours with his hands by my head and his knees by my waist.

"I _do _say so. Now, what is hurting you, little flower?"

I licked my bottom lip and bit it. He barely stifled a groan.

"My chest is bothering me, really bad," I said, just as I realized that my nipples pebbled.

He hummed and made a tsk_-_ing noise with his tongue. "Anything else?"

"Yeah… Between my legs… it's always so _wet_. I think there might be an infection," I tried to say seriously. It didn't work.

I saw a lump form beneath his jeans and I smiled in triumph.

I reached up to taste him and he made no effort to move away. When he finally let me go to breathe, his lips drifted down to my neck and started making a trail of kisses down to my shirt. Before I knew it, we were squirming in a frenzy of hands and tongues, and I could only guess what had gotten him into such a mood.

When we were done, I laid back against his chest and hummed in pleasure as he started to trace circles on my waist.

"I love you, Roza," he said quietly.

"I love you too," I said, my insides churning in delight. I ran my hand up his smooth, hairless chest and silently wondered when he ever had the time to shave. The man was a ninja-god.

I quickly fell asleep in his arms, only to be woken by him shifted around me.

"Where are you going?" I asked in a low, cackling voice.

He didn't answer, only moved so he was spooning me in the most intimate way possible. I noticed that the light was off and that he must have gotten up to turn it off and he was just now coming back.

He put his arm around my waist and his chin on my shoulder. I grabbed his leg and hitched it over my own. He chuckled and his breath hit my ear, making me shiver.

I fell asleep again and woke up to Dimitri kissing my cheek.

"Wake up, Roza, Alberta wants us both," he breathed.

I giggled as his hot breath touched my ear. He fingers found my sides and started tickling me, making me laugh harder.

"Five… more… minutes…" I said while laughing uncontrollably.

"Nu-uh, sweetie. Alberta want us _now_," he teased.

"Alright, alright! I'm up!"

He smiled as I sat up in bed and covered myself with a sheet as I tried to stand up to go to the bathroom. He slid his hands softly onto my cheeks and pressed his lips to mine. Electricity coursed through me and I smiled under his lips.

"Go and get dressed," he gasped. I unclasped my fingers from the back of his head and dropped the sheet. His eyes widened as I swung my hips, passing the entrance of the bathroom and shut the door softly.

Just as the door hit the hinges, blood rushed to my face and I gripped the sink edge. A rush ran through me, pain filling my…

I had no time to process what it meant before it completely faded away. I frowned at looked at myself incredulously before turning on the water. And then it happened again, but this time, I fell just a little. I locked my knees when it passed and put a hand to my head. I felt normal, but my stomach hurt.

I tried to ignore it as I grabbed my bag and pulled on some clothes. I splashed more water on my face and once again, the pain gripped me. This time, there was no stopping it. I fell to the ground, hitting my head on the sink. It made a loud _thud_ and as I hit it and I let out a cry.

Dimitri came rushing into the room and looked at me with a stunned expression.

"Roza? What happened?"

I couldn't answer. My brain felt fuzzy and the world was slowly turning gray.

He scooped me up in his arms and felt around my head with his free hand. I vaguely saw blood on his fingertips but I had no clear mind left to panic. The only thing I could do to tell him I was awake was to blink every couple of second. It killed me to have to be this way.

Somehow, I knew this was the end. And I could never tell him I loved him again.

**Ooohh, you guys are pissed, I can tell. Well, the thing that Rose has which I'm not going to specify yet is a disease that **_**I**_** once had. It was really bad, and you'll find out what happens. Don't worry, though, it'll all be alright… :D**

**-Zoë**


	4. Authors Note: I'm Sorry

I love you guys, so much, and that is why I am extremely sorry. Life has just started kicking my ass lately. Finals, parents, moving, everything. But the exciting news? I finished Spirit Bound. The depressing news? I'm depressed because I finished Spirit Bound. Ironic, isn't it?

But, basically, the story itself was extremely depressing as well. With Dimitri and Adrian and arresting Rose for murdering Tatiana…

Whoops.

But, uh, yeah. It was great. Despite my depression, I loved it with all my heart. My favorite is still Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise follows a close second, then the first one, then Spirit Bound, then Frostbite. What can I say? They had like, two make out scenes in FB and they were both short and not really descriptive at all. But you know…

So, as I waist time jabbering away, it is 12:25 am, I finished Spirit Bound about a half an hour ago, which would be on May 19th, 11:55 pm. Hm.

One thing I have to address is the stories. They will be continued. Hopefully. But, right now, I started a freelance writing class and we were instructed to write something… and it was cool. So I made it into a story and it's now on FanFiction. It's on my profile, it's called _The Wolf Thief_. It's basically about this chic who is kidnapped from her house and forced to work for an agency that mutates wolves. I encourage you to read it, I own everything, yadda yadda yadda.

Okay, so my request of you right this very minute is to leave me a review: anything. Tell me how your feeling right now. Tell me that you're angry at me for not updating, or that your happy to hear I'm not dead. Anything.

Thanks so much for sticking with me all this time. I owe you guys. A lot.

Your beloved FanFiction writer, Zoë.

P.S. I LOVE YOU.


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